Aerospace, History, and Wildlife in Florda's Space and First Coasts - Space Coast Road Trip Radio Report; 7-11 January 2025

Last week, I took what is becoming my annual Space Coast Road Trip. I left Savannah going south on Tuesday and returned on Saturday. On the way to Titusville on Tuesday, I stopped in Ponce Inlet and visited the Ponce Inlet Lighthouse and Museum and then continued on to visit the Merritt Island NWR before checking into the hotel. I spent Wednesday at the Kennedy Space Center Visitors Complex, catching a SpaceX launch while I was there. On Thursday, I spent the morning at the Merritt Island NWR and Canaveral National Seashore then visited the American Space Museum and Hall of Fame and the Valiant Air Command Museum in the afternoon. On Friday, I headed back up I-95 to St Augustine where I visited the St Augustine Lighthouse and Maritime Museum, Castillo de San Marco, Colonial Quarter, and the Fort Mose Historic Site. I overnighted in St Augustine Beach so I wouldn't have to drive through Jacksonville on a Friday afternoon/evening and drove back to Savannah on Saturday morning. Temperatures in Florida were below normal and winds were high throughout the trip, but with the exception of Saturday morning, there wasn't any rain to deal with. Some excellent meals were had along the way and it was also good to catch up with radio friends at several of them.

Space Shuttle Atlantis on display at the Kennedy Space Center Visitors Complex. Atlantis holds a soft spot for me and I love to visit it at KSC because it was the shuttle I saw launch on its STS-125 mission on 11 April 2009 - the only Shuttle launch I got to see launch in person.

Road Trip Radio Report - Columbia, SC 20-22 October 2024

This road trip was supposed be in Upstate South Carolina to visit the Cowpens and Kings Mountain battlefields and take in the Autumn foliage, but unfortunately both Cowpens and Kings Mountain are still in the process of removing dangerous fallen trees from Hurricane Helene. Since the two parks were closed in the week before I left, I changed plans and visited Congaree National Park in Hopkins, SC, Riverbanks Zoo and Gardens in Columbia, SC, and Poinsett State Park in Wedgefield, SC on Sunday and Monday and returned to Savannah on Tuesday. Sunday, on the way up, I used I-95, but to get a bit different view and hear different things, I used US-321 to return to Savannah on Tuesday morning.

This road trip was across two beautiful Autumn days with the leaves in Midlands South Carolina beginning to turn. 

Aerospace History, a SpaceX Night Launch, and Wildlife - Space Coast Road Trip Radio Report; 26-28 April 2024

This past Saturday was Cape Canaveral Space Force Station's Family Day, and a friend invited me along for a base tour; since it coincided with my weekend off, it was an opportunity I couldn't pass up. I left Savannah on Friday and came back on Sunday. In addition to the Cape Canaveral SFS visit, I was able to visit the Merritt Island NWR and take in my first in person night launch when SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 on Saturday night. And as always, a trip to the Space Coast makes for interesting radio listening. It was a truly enjoyable road trip that in the end seemed all to short.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launching from LC-39A at Kennedy Space Center on Saturday night, 27April 2024. The Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) can be seen on the right, and LC-39B, lit up for work, can be seen to the left of the launch.

Space Coast Road Trip Radio Report; 8-13 January 2024

Last week I took a road trip to Florida's Space Coast to take in nature and wildlife at the Canaveral National Seashore and Merritt Island NWR and the past, present, and future of space travel at the Kennedy Space Center. Throughout the week, I also enjoyed listening to the wide variety of communications in the Space Coast area - aviation and Military communications, NASA and federal communications, private space company communications, and more. I also took a boat tour of the Banana River and Port Canaveral while I was there and that yielded a wonderful surprise. The weather was somewhat uncooperative on Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday, but it still turned out to be a terrific trip. Some excellent meals were had at restaurants along the way, including a great meal with friends. Overall, it was a wonder, enjoyable trip - one that is becoming an annual thing.